txolops Chapter 74 A Bountiful Harvest! Great Fortune Follows Great Misfortune!
Chapter 74 A Bountiful Harvest! Great Fortune Follows Great Misfortune!
Lin Chuan didn't turn his head.
He rushed out of the cave in one breath.
They charged relentlessly toward the area where the "Star Shadow Illusion Array" had been set up beforehand.
The thing behind him was in hot pursuit, and its speed was even faster than Lin Chuan's!
If Lin Chuan hadn't started early and been familiar with the terrain, he would have almost been overtaken.
Having rushed a hundred feet, just stepping into the edge of the illusion array's range, Lin Chuan abruptly stopped and turned around, simultaneously changing the hand seals—
"Activate the formation!"
"Buzz..."
The surrounding scenery instantly became hazy, with twinkling stars and pervasive mist.
The familiar paths and reference points seemed to have been erased and distorted by an invisible hand.
The pursuing black shadow suddenly stopped at the edge of the formation, seemingly sensing the strangeness of the area ahead.
Taking this opportunity, Lin Chuan finally got a clear look at this infamous level four demonic beast—the Golden-backed Demon Mantis!
It stands about ten feet tall, its entire body covered in dark golden carapace that reflects a cold, metallic sheen under the sparse starlight.
The most striking feature is a deep, brilliant gold line running along its back from head to tail, resembling a pure gold inlay.
On a slightly small, triangular head, two fist-sized compound eyes, gleaming with a cold, eerie green light, were fixed on Lin Chuan.
What is most chilling are its pair of jet-black forelimbs (mantis blades) that, when folded, resemble two heavy cleavers, and when unfolded, exceed half the length of its body, with sharp, cold light flowing around their edges that sting the skin.
This is the very thing that easily sliced through two top-tier shields just now!
The Golden-backed Mantis seemed to be bewildered by the illusion array, or perhaps it was enraged by Lin Chuan's provocative act of suddenly stopping.
After a moment's hesitation, it brandished its pair of terrifying mantis blades and charged headlong into the illusion array filled with starlight!
Once inside the formation, the weakness of the monsters' low intelligence was exposed.
Although its compound eyes can perceive subtle movements, they are unable to see through illusions that shift between reality and illusion.
It charged left and right through the formation, its mantis blade flailing wildly, slicing through the mist and tearing apart the starlight illusions, but it kept spinning in place, unable to get close to its real target, and instead its demonic power and stamina were constantly being depleted.
Lin Chuan stood in a safe spot outside the formation, coldly watching the mantis struggling in vain inside.
Instead of personally risking his life, he raised his hand and opened several storage bags.
"Click click click..."
More than thirty puppets of various shapes, mainly engaged in melee combat and energy attacks, were released. Under Lin Chuan's divine control, they marched in formation into the illusion array with neat but slightly stiff steps.
As soon as these puppets entered the illusion array, they immediately followed Lin Chuan's instructions, locked onto the berserk golden figure in the array, and launched an attack in unison!
"Sizzle! Sizzle! Sizzle!" "Boom! Boom!"
Beams of energy and spiritual strikes of various colors and considerable power shot towards the Golden-backed Demon Mantis from all directions!
The golden-backed mantis howled repeatedly. Faced with this sudden attack, it wielded its pair of mantis blades like two black whirlwinds, forming an impenetrable defensive net.
The clanging sounds of impact were as dense as rain. The vast majority of the puppets' attacks were blocked or shattered by the pair of indestructible mantis blades. The few that escaped struck its hard golden shell, leaving only shallow white marks.
But the ants were so numerous that they killed the elephant.
Although the Golden-backed Demon Mantis has strong defenses, its demonic power is not inexhaustible.
Bewildered by the illusion array and constantly harassed and attacked by more than thirty puppets, it had no choice but to keep swinging the mantis blade at high speed, causing its energy consumption to increase dramatically.
After a stalemate lasting about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the golden-backed mantis in the formation finally began to show signs of slowing down. The speed and power of its mantis wielding its mantis blades decreased significantly, and the demonic power surging around it dimmed considerably.
The hissing that came from its mouth was tinged with fatigue.
"Now!"
Lin Chuan's eyes narrowed, and the twenty-seven divine consciousness spikes in his divine sea of consciousness were activated once again!
The invisible and intangible spiritual attack ignored the illusion array and instantly pierced the relatively vulnerable head of the Golden-backed Demon Mantis!
"hiss--!"
The golden-backed mantis let out a shriek that was a mixture of pain and rage. Its body stiffened abruptly, and the mantis blade it was swinging came to a fatal halt.
The "Blood Fiend Blade" talisman, which had been poised to strike, transformed into a deadly bloodline and, seizing the opportunity, silently shot into the formation from outside!
"Pfft!"
A flash of blood disappeared in an instant.
On the small, triangular head of the Golden-backed Mantis, a tiny hole suddenly appeared, open from front to back.
Its massive body convulsed violently a few times, its cold, green compound eyes quickly dimmed, and then it crashed to the ground, raising a cloud of dust.
After confirming that the mantis was completely dead, Lin Chuan removed part of the illusion array's effects and cautiously stepped forward.
He carefully began to dismember the level-four demon beast, sorting out its special golden armor on its back and its priceless mantis-like forelimbs, and carefully storing them in a special storage bag.
If these two mantis blades could be meticulously crafted by a master craftsman, they would undoubtedly become a top-tier offensive weapon of unparalleled power!
After processing the monster materials, Lin Chuan entered the cave again.
This time there were no obstacles, and he soon discovered a complete human skeleton covered in a tattered gray robe deep in the cave.
The skeleton sat cross-legged on a flat stone platform in a natural posture, with a seemingly ordinary but well-preserved gray storage bag tied around its waist.
"Found it!"
Lin Chuan quickly stepped forward and took the storage bag.
Upon probing with my divine sense, I found that the bag was quite spacious, but the items stored inside were somewhat unexpected.
Most of them were bottles and jars of various sizes, labeled with things like "Blood Jade Spider Larvae Culture Fluid" and "Blue Spotted Scorpion Venom Gland Extract," which were all special food and materials for cultivating various spirit insects and monsters.
Another small portion consists of various insect eggs, pupae, or small insect carcasses, all labeled with their names, clearly intended for research or as introductions.
Finally, there was a jade slip that was entirely emerald green and of superior quality.
Lin Chuan immersed his divine sense into the jade slip, which contained the lifelong research, cultivation, and control of various strange insects by the Core Formation cultivators of the Yuling Sect!
It details the habits, weaknesses, cultivation methods, and combined attack techniques of thousands of known strange insects, and also records several unique secret methods of controlling, raising, and refining insects passed down by the Yuling Sect!
Its value is immeasurable for cultivators aspiring to master the path of spirit insects.
As for the expected large quantities of spirit stones, high-level magical artifacts, talismans, or cultivation manuals, there were none of them.
It is likely that the person had consumed or transferred combat resources before the disaster, or that they had a habit of hiding important resources elsewhere.
"In the short term, this storage bag is indeed less valuable than the materials used to make the Golden-backed Demon Mantis. However, this jade slip containing the insect breeding tips is a treasure for long-term investment."
Lin Chuan was slightly surprised, but could accept it.
After all, the core inheritance of a Core Formation cultivator is often more precious than resources that are available at the moment.
The purpose of this trip has been fully achieved, and although the process was risky, it went relatively smoothly.
Lin Chuan carefully put away his storage bag and jade slip, retrieved the array plates and flags of the "Star Shadow Illusion Array" outside the cave, returned to his hiding place, took the black-robed Qu Hun with him, and quickly left the territory of Jiayuan City by riding his magic weapon.
He planned to head to his next destination—Ling Shou Shan Market.
That place was established by a major sect in Yue Kingdom known for its beast taming techniques. Perhaps you can find resources or opportunities related to spirit insects and puppets there, and also gather some information along the way.
Half a day later, Lin Chuan brought Qu Hun to the outskirts of the Spirit Beast Mountain Market.
Sensing the presence of the anti-flight restriction from afar, he activated his escape technique and, along with the silent black-robed Qu Hun, walked one after the other towards the market entrance concealed by the illusion array.
Just as he was about to step into the illusionary array of the marketplace, golden light reappeared before his eyes, and the divination for the new day was refreshed as promised:
Today's divination result: Very auspicious.
[The divination text reads: You have arrived at the market town established by Spirit Beast Mountain. Inside a shop called Spirit Insect Pavilion, you have discovered a book containing acrostic characters that record a secret technique...]
"After great misfortune, great fortune indeed followed!"
Looking at the divination signifying a bountiful harvest, Lin Chuan couldn't help but reveal a genuine smile of joy.
It seems that this trip to Spirit Beast Mountain will not be fruitless.
He straightened his robes, and with his black-robed martial spirit puppet in tow, stepped into the market.
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